The discovery of refugees in a container [in Wexford] from France is the direct result of the EU’s failure to honour commitments on resettlement and funding in response to the crisis.

Those involved have come through an ordeal and must be provided with every possible support – including medical aid, access to swift immigration procedures and legal representation.

Brian Killoran, Chief Executive of the Immigrant Council says: “While the arrival of refugees in containers in Ireland is unusual it is not unprecedented and it again highlights the fact that EU Government’s including our own have not honoured their commitments to offer protection, help and support to those fleeing war and conflict.

“The first priority now is to ensure that those found are treated with humanity. Any request they make to restart their lives in Ireland must be swiftly processed through fair and transparent immigration procedures.

“The next Government must immediately honour the promises already made by restarting the lifesaving operation by the navy on the high seas, end the unacceptable delay in Ireland offering shelter to men, women and children fleeing for their lives and implement policies to ensure proper integration of those arriving here.”

Meanwhile, in Dimitrovgrad, Serbia, near the Bulgarian border…

Andrew Connolly reports:

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) estimates that just under 30,000 refugees entered Bulgaria in 2015, a seemingly small percentage of the total arrivals in Europe, which passed the million mark.

Yet no other EU state has seen anywhere near a comparable number of allegations of violence committed against refugees. In a continent increasingly torn by how to deal with the ceaseless arrival of people fleeing the world’s worst conflicts, Bulgaria’s tough approach is silently tolerated, if not publicly endorsed.

In December 2015, British Prime Minister David Cameron met with his Bulgarian counterpart (and former bodyguard to Communist dictator Todor Zhivkov), posed for photos at Bulgaria’s fence with Turkey and praised the border regime for doing “vital work” for Britain in stemming the flow of refugees.

…In March 2015, the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee reported that two Iraqi Yazidis fleeing ISIL and whose legs were reportedly broken by Bulgarian police were brought back to Turkey by friends and, unable to move, eventually froze to death in a remote village.